


Longer Than Forever

by ImWithEnjolras



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, Zombie AU, watch the tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-07
Updated: 2017-06-07
Packaged: 2018-11-10 01:31:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11117076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImWithEnjolras/pseuds/ImWithEnjolras
Summary: “Everyone okay?” None of them say a thing. The truth of the matter is, none of them are okay. None of them have been okay since the beginning of this. But they nod anyway.Tanaka slips his hand into Noya’s.





	Longer Than Forever

**Author's Note:**

> I uh...I'm sorry...I guess...

 

He remembers it with startling clarity. Maybe it’s because it was the first time in a long time that they’d been cornered like that. Surrounded and ambushed like prey.

In a sense, that’s what they were. Prey. Food. 

Noya remembers the underlying feeling of safety when the news broke out of a virus that brought dead humans back to life with a new-found hunger and propensity for human flesh. He remembers that  _ all _ of Japan felt safe, despite the mass hysteria in the mainlands. Japan is an island and if they close their borders like they did before, Japan would survive.

But it didn’t work.

The virus was too fast or maybe they were just too slow. Whatever it was, Tokyo had fallen less than two weeks after the first official case. Osaka, 6 days after that. Soon, what was left of the country was scrambling to survive. They just couldn’t get ahead of it.

Humanity could not keep up.

Infection spread exactly in the way it was predicted to: it took down the big cities before swiftly spreading to the rest of the country. It’s the zombie apocalypse videogames had introduced him to, but did not prepare him for. 

Somehow, the volleyball team and what they could gather of their families were able to come together. 

They made sure to move around a lot, never staying longer than necessary, particularly in more populated areas.

Until they had found this place. Way off the grid, a decent distance to a town that had yet to be scavenged by other travelling groups.

This would be their first mistake.

It’s not like they hadn’t lost members of their group; splicing off and dividing when they felt the direction was getting too dangerous or too reckless. There were even the less-than-a-handful who they had lost to the actual virus. But now it was just their core, the volleyball team - kids turned adults - with their coaches and Saeko and Akiteru.

It’s eerie how much they’ve changed. Noya had never pegged Yamaguchi as someone who knew which plants were edible and he never figured that Sugawara could be a sniper. But this is who they are now and this is the only way they were going to survive.

If things weren’t so terrifying, this would be just another great adventure. If death wasn’t a possibility, this would be kind of exciting. 

But that’s not the world they’re living in.

They were about two weeks into their stay here; their longest stay yet. Hope started to grow that maybe things would turn around for them. Or, at least, they’d be able to stay here without any worries. Maybe they could start growing the garden that Asahi’s been dreaming of. Maybe they’d find some chickens to eat with the fish from the river.

Hope.

Hope is all they had.

But this is where they were comfortable.

And this is where they got complacent.

Noya and Tanaka are on a supply run to the town right at noon. Apparently zombies  _ do _ get lethargic, especially with that noontime heat, so noon was prime time to go scavenging. The pair go into town with Kageyama and Daichi, with Sugawara watching their backs on some far off high point. 

“There’s too much noise going on further in. We should go,” Daichi’s voice speaks into Noya’s ear. Daichi and Kageyama are in the grocery store across the street while Noya and Tanaka are at the pharmacy. Noya glances at Tanaka, who’s hearing the same message. Tanaka glances back, serious face turning into a grin. 

“Let’s go home, boys.” Tanaka whispers into his headphone, fingers tangling with Noya’s without looking away from the exit. A warmth blossoms in Noya’s chest.

Honestly, at the beginning of this all, Noya didn’t think he would make it. He had just frozen up when he heard the news. He didn’t even know where to start. But then Tanaka and his sister came in, coaxing Noya from his frozen state, urging him to pack necessities before throwing them into the back of Saeko’s van. They’d then picked through Noya’s kitchen and pantry, taking what they could.

Noya’s family had been in Tokyo when the outbreak happened. 

They hadn’t made it back.

Both of them take a deep breath, waiting for Sugawara’s green light.

“Hey.” Noya turns to Tanaka, eyes warm despite the grim set of his face. “Love you.”

Noya doesn’t reply, opting to pull Tanaka towards him instead. He presses his mouth to Tanaka’s, kiss desperate and afraid, but full of everything Noya couldn’t say - couldn’t bear to say.

“Love you.”

“Go,” Sugawara whispers into their ear pieces and they run.

* * *

 

 

An inhuman squeal. That’s all the warning they get before the zombies are upon them. 

Luckily their exit is open and zombie-free, but there’s something about these undead. They’re faster than normal, a little more fight in them than usual. Gun shots ring out; it’s not their weapon of choice. It’s too noisy and attracts the attention of other zombies, but it gets the job faster than their knives and bats and at a safer distance.

“What the fuck?!” Noya shouts. Sugawara’s sniper whizzes over their heads. “There’s not supposed to be this many out this far!”

Tanaka grits his teeth, the crunch of a zombie’s head under his bat doing nothing to quiet his thudding heart beat. 

Kageyama is the one who answers. “We’ve been waiting it out too long out here!”

“Noya! Kageyama! Get going! We’ll cover your backs!” Tanaka’s order makes sense; he and Daichi have longer ranged guns and can keep the zombies back for a little longer as Kageyama and Noya make a hasty retreat. So they do.

Noya takes a quick look back, trusting in the nod that Tanaka sends his way, and runs. There’s a stumble and a grunt from his left and he sees Kageyama trip and fall to the ground. 

Noya’s voice dies in his throat before he can warn Kageyama about the three zombies closing in on him. He reaches for his gun and shoots one in the head.

“Fuc--” One of the zombies lunges for Kageyama but Tanaka is suddenly there, swiping the thing away with his bat. The bat breaks in half at the force, but there’s no time to think when Tanaka is bodily taken down by the third zombie.

The zombie is ferocious and Noya can’t get a clear shot. It’s happening too fast. It’s clawing at Tanaka and Noya needs to kill it  _ yesterday _ but the inhuman shouts and screams foaming at its mouth are drowning Noya in nerve-freezing fear. 

Thankfully, Kageyama scrambles to his feet and shoots the bastard in the head. Noya’s just about to run towards them when he feels a strong pull on his shoulder.

“They’re fine. We have to get moving!” Noya steels himself at Daichi’s words and they run.

And they keep running until they make it to Sugawara.

“I tried to take care of them early on, but I have no idea where they came from!” The other four shake their heads; it happens. At least they all got out of it alive.

“Everyone okay?” None of them say a thing. The truth of the matter is, none of them are okay. None of them have been okay since the beginning of this. But they nod anyway.

Tanaka slips his hand into Noya’s.

* * *

 

 

That night Noya wakes to an empty bed and a whispered argument outside his and Tanaka’s room. He can barely make out the shadows on the floor, but he eventually recognizes Tanaka and Daichi’s voices through his sleep-fog.  

“I’m not going to let you do that, Tanaka!” Noya can tell Daichi’s trying to keep it down for the rest of the team, but there’s only so much that he can do. “That isn’t fair!”

“Nothing’s fair! Nothing’s  _ ever _ been fair.” Something in Noya’s chest clenches; Tanaka’s voice cracks mid-sentence. Noya can hear the tears in his voice. “None of us wanted to live through fuckin’ zombies, but here we are!”

“We never asked for this, but I’m not letting you put yourself in danger.” Noya gets up, quietly making his way to the door to peek through the opening.

“Danger?! It’s too late for that!” Tanaka grabs Daichi by the front of his shirt. There’s something different about Tanaka. His eyes are dark and terrified; his hands are  _ shaking _ . “Daichi. I’m a dead man. I’m on borrowed time.” Tanaka’s voice peters down to almost nothing. Noya’s heart stops in his chest. “Let me do this. Let me give you time to get out of here."

“And Noya? Have you talked about this with him?”

“Yuu...Yuu doesn’t know.”

Noya decides to pull the door open then, eyes burning with unshed tears.

“Yuu--” Tanaka starts.

“B-Borrowed time?” Noya can’t help it. He can’t help the way his voice raises, getting louder and more hysterical with every word. “W-What do you mean...what do you mean you’re a dead man?!”

Noya surges forward, desperately grasping onto Tanaka. The other boy can barely look Noya in the eye. “I--”

“Look at me,” Noya demands and it takes Tanaka a few seconds to make eye contact. “Look at me--” Noya’s breath stutters in his throat. He feels like he’s going to throw up. “Tell me the truth.”

The others are slowly coming out of their own rooms, woken up by the commotion that Noya’s kicked up. Tanaka takes a shuddering breath. He gently pulls Noya’s grasp from his shirt, carefully holding Noya’s hands between his own. “I--” Tanaka refocuses, stroking his thumbs over Noya’s knuckles. “I have 48 hours.” Noya sees Saeko from the corner of his eye, hands flying to her mouth to muffle her sobs in immediate realization. “Actually less than. And in two days I’m going to distract those things so you guys can run in the other direction.”

Noya needs it straight. He can’t stand for this ambiguity. “Why? Why does it have to be you?”

Tanaka gives him a sad, small smile. “Because I wasn’t fast enough today.”

No.

Tanaka pulls up his sleeve, unravelling the bandages that Noya didn’t realize were there.

No.

There. Clear as day.

Teeth marks and greying, dying skin.

_ No. _

Noya teeters into Tanaka and blacks out.

 

* * *

 

Noya wakes up again in the morning, body wrapped around a wide-awake Tanaka. He’s staring out the window with a glassy, detached gaze. Noya feels Tanaka’s fingers absentmindedly rubbing circles into his shoulder. 

“Ryuu…”

Tanaka jolts out of whatever mindspace he’s in, immediately turning to look at Noya. It’s silent for a few moments. “I--” Tanaka is at a loss of words and Noya’s eyes well up with tears. “I’m sorry.”

“What are you apologizing for, you dummy?” Noya thought he’d be mad. He thought he’d be furious. Instead, he’s just tired. Exhausted from it all. “If I had been faster. Shot that thing before it---”

“Stop it.” Tanaka interrupts immediately. “It won’t do you or the others any good if you start blaming yourself for this.” Tanaka pauses to press a shaky kiss to Noya’s forehead. “I’m just sorry I have to leave you.”

Tanaka doesn’t say anything after that, leaving the sentence kind of open-ended. He’s sorry for leaving Noya. After all they’ve been through. After all their sacrifices.

Noya spins the ring on his left ring finger.

After their promise.

“Ryuu..” Noya whispers. “Make me forget.”

Tanaka’s breath hitches in his throat, but he says nothing else. Instead he leans forward, pressing into Noya with all that he has left.

One last promise. One last time. One last moment.

It’s the last time they’ll lay together. Noya commits everything to memory. The way Tanaka smells and feels, the way he sounds, the way he moves. The way Tanaka loves Noya.

Noya forgets and remembers all the same.

* * *

 

 

Noya is barely a few steps away from Tanaka the rest of the day. Tanaka makes his tearful goodbyes. Hinata latches onto the older man ferociously and Noya completely understands how he feels. Tsukishima avoids Tanaka for as long as possible, but he breaks down anyway, uncharacteristically wrapping his arms around Tanaka and hiding his face in his neck for a few moments. 

Saeko, apparently, had been inconsolable the night before, but no one would have known it in the light of day. They disappear for a few hours and return with red, puffy eyes. 

The rest of Tanaka’s goodbyes are similar. No one wants to let him go.

Kageyama, however, had the worst time trying to accept it out of all of them. He had been furious with himself. If he had been faster or smarter or--

And, again, Tanaka derails the same negative thoughts Noya had a few hours earlier.

“Don’t you dare blame yourself, Kageyama Tobio.” Tanaka gently takes a hold of Kageyama. The angle is awkward, but Tanaka holds him as close as he can. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I need you to be strong and I need you to protect the others because I won’t be here to do that anymore.”

Kageyama breaks down into sobs, apologizing through his tears.

Once Kageyama calms down, eyes more resolute than ever, Tanaka comes back to scoop Noya back into his arms. He closes his eyes and holds onto Tanaka as tightly as he can.

* * *

 

 

The plan is to take the Harley Davidson that they’d been fixing up in the garage. It’s a noisy vehicle and would have attracted too many of the undead; they’d planned to put a muffler on it, but things have changed. They wheel the bike to the edge of the town, sounds of the zombies even further out than they were yesterday. 

“Okay. This is it.” Noya’s been numb for the past few hours. They’ve delayed Tanaka’s leaving for long enough. He’s looking worse for wear and they all know he doesn’t have much time left. 

Tanaka takes one last gaze over the rest of the team, a sad, but resolved smile on his face. Daichi steps forward.

“Thank you.”

Tanaka cocks a teary grin. “Take care of yourselves and stay together.”

There’s one last group hug before they all start going back. Noya doesn’t go with them, wanting one more moment with Tanaka. 

“I don’t want you to go.” Noya pitches forward, burying himself into Tanaka’s chest.

“I know.” Tanaka whispers, fingers through Noya’s hair. “I know.”

A few more seconds. Just a few more seconds.

“Hey.” Noya looks up to find Tanaka’s face full of tears. “L-Love you.” 

“I--” Noya’s grip on Tanaka tightens, crying earnestly. “I’ll never s-stop loving you.”

Tanaka leans down and kisses Noya one last time.

“I love you,” Tanaka whispers as he pulls back. “Now, go.”

Noya turns and runs.

* * *

 

 

Run. Don’t look back. Whatever you hear, don’t look back. Run. Keep running. Run. Run. Run. 

* * *

 

 

“Hey, Yuu?” 

“Hmm?”

“I’m gonna love you forever, y’know?”

“Me too.” Tanaka grins, brighter than the sun, and Noya grins back. “Longer than forever.”

**Author's Note:**

> Catch me @kougamira on twitter or stillwritinghallelujah on tumblr <3


End file.
